


Over the Crest Again

by kayliemalinza



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Genre: Character Death Fix, First Kiss, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-05-27
Updated: 2007-05-27
Packaged: 2017-10-27 08:15:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/293633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayliemalinza/pseuds/kayliemalinza
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will's trying to do his job, but Norrington's being stubborn. Jack's not helping. Sort of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Over the Crest Again

**Author's Note:**

> Set directly after AWE.

Will, newly captain and soul-ferryer, stood in consternation on the deck of the _Flying Dutchman_.

"You're demanding that I send you to Hell?" he asked.

Norrington stood at attention, his hat tucked underneath his arm."I understand there may not be a Hell, as such," he said, "but if there is an after-world of judgement and punishment, I believe my place is there," The brocade was a little soggy and the pink-blotched tear at the midriff couldn't be helped, but otherwise James' uniform was in regulation condition.

Will tilted his head to the side. "Why?" he asked.

Norrington's eyes fluttered shut for a moment. It wouldn't do to roll ones eyes at the captain, would it? Carefully, as if speaking to a dullwit, he said, "I have killed hundreds of men in battle. I sentenced hundreds more to the gallows."

"That was your _duty_ ," said Will.

Norrington held up a hand. "Pray let me continue." He lowered a stern brow at Will until the captain sighed and nodded. The late admiral continued: "Though my time on the ship was brief, I betrayed her crew and her captain."

"What, Jack Sparrow?" snorted Will. "That's alright."

"You were also on that ship," said Norrington, with a baleful eye. "And Elizabeth."

Will thought about that a moment. "Well, you were punished for that by having to work for Beckett."

"Precisely," said James.

"So it's settled!" said Will.

"Not at all," said Norrington. "While in the employ of Lord Cutler Beckett, I—"

"Saved Elizabeth," Will said firmly. They glared at each other for a few moments before Norrington relented.

"Alright, then," he said. "I am redeemed for betraying Elizabeth by virtue of later saving her. Though I betrayed my employer and broke the law in order to do so."

"Betraying Beckett doesn't count," said Will.

"I _broke the law_ ," growled Norrington. Will looked at him blankly. Norrington sighed. "I suppose that wouldn't matter much to you," he muttered. "At any rate, you are forgetting the abominable orders I carried out before that."

"Beckett ordered you to do those things," said Will.

Norrington rolled his eyes. "Having been ordered to commit a sin does not absolve me of having committed it," he said. "I could have chosen not to do those things."

"But then, by your reckoning, you'd be damned for disobeying," Will pointed out.

"Precisely," said James.

"That's not fair," said Will.

"Precisely!" Norrington yelled.

Will blinked. Norrington stared at him, eyes bright and hurt, then flickering away. He cleared his throat quietly.

"Again, I ask that you send me to a place of judgment and penalty," he said, watching the smattering of starlight on the horizon.

"Again, you do not deserve that," Will murmured.

Norrington threw his hat on the deck and walked to the rail. He gripped it with both hands, his back bowed and his head hanging. "I sailed my ship into a hurricane," he whispered, voice thick. "I sent hundreds of honourable crew and officers to the depths for no reason other than my own pride."

Will was silent for a moment. "You have judged yourself harshly for that," he stated. "And punished yourself more harshly still. As the captain of the _Flying Dutchman_ , I claim that you are absolved."

"You're letting emotion cloud your judgement," James snapped.

"I am," said Will. "Just like a commodore who supported the pardon of a citizen turned pirate, and gave another pirate a day's head start." James snorted and opened his mouth to argue, but Will turned away. "We'll sail on a little further, then drop you off at your rightful place," he called back.

"There's one more thing!" James yelled, pushing away from the rail. When Will turned back, he smirked and said, "I performed lascivious acts with a woman who was promised to another!"

Will gaped. Then he glanced around worriedly, and scurried back over to James. "Elizabeth?" he asked, his voice pitched a little high.

Norrington nodded, then dropped his gaze to the deck. "Though only in the sinful delusions of my imagination," he admitted. His cheeks went slightly pink. "But it was very lifelike."

"Oh," said Will. He scratched his head. "Well, I suppose you can be forgiven for that."

"I also imagined numerous other salacious adventures!" said Norrington before Will could turn away again. "With _a pirate_!"

"Anamaria?" asked Will.

"Who's Anamaria?" asked Norrington.

Will coughed. "Well," he said. He tilted his head. "That's the best you could come up with?"

Norrington lead out an exasperated breath. "I had dozens of other sins, but you ignored them all!" he said. "This is blatant favoritism, Turner, and frankly it's unfounded."

"No it's not," said Will. "You're a good man!"

"Oh, for the love of—" Norrington threw up his hands. "No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!" yelled Will.

"Well, fine!" shouted Norrington. "But it doesn't _mean_ anything!"

"It should!"

"But it _doesn't_ ," Norrington hissed. "And no amount of foolish idealism or hopeful optimism or tearful romanticism will change it!" His eyes crystallized hard, hard green and his voice dropped dangerously. "It's about time you and Elizabeth realized that."

Will looked away. "Fine," he said flatly. "I damn you to hell."

Norrington narrowed his eyes warily. "Really?" he asked, fingertips scratching lightly at the brocade on his cuffs.

"Really," said Will. "You've convinced me, you stubborn sot."

James smiled.

Will shook his head and glanced up at the stars. "Get in a boat, and row..." he calculated star positions and pointed at the horizon. "Thataway. You'll be surrounded by fire and brimstone before dawn."

"Excellent," said James. He scooped up his hat and walked over to a rowboat hanging over the rails. He paused and glanced back. "Are you telling the truth?"

Will raised an eyebrow. "You doubt my honour?" he asked tartly.

Norrington gave him a wry salute and climbed into the rowboat. "Good day, Mr Turner," he said.

"Good day, Mr Norrington," Will answered. He watched at the rowboat was lowered into the dark sea, and Norrington began to row towards the horizon. Will glanced up at the stars again. "Alright then," he said, and smiled as the sky flashed green.

  


* * *

"Ho there!"

Jack paused in reefing the sail of the dinghy and looked behind him. A rowboat was coming up starboard, carrying.... an admiral. A very familiar admiral.

"Ho yourself," said Jack. "What are you doing here? And why is there blood on your jacket?"

Norrington expertly guided his boat parallel to Jack's. "I died," he said. "Didn't you, as well?"

"Aye," said Jack. "But now I'm back."

Norrington glared at him disbelievingly. "You're _alive_?" he growled.

Jack smiled amiably. "Alive and lively as ever," he chirped. "Once again sailing the Caribbee blue." He swept an arm across the horizon, turning his face up to catch a bit of breeze.

Norrington's fingers clenched on the oars. "Damn you, Will Turner!" he bellowed.

"Wonderful!" said Jack. "What are we damning him for?"

"That is no business of yours," Norrington said, glancing around. "I must fix this directly. Which way to World's End?"

"That's a while off, mate," Jack said. "You'd be better putting a pistol to your head."

Norrington stared at him. "I would never profane my body with self-mutilation," he said. Then the corner of his mouth turned bitterly down. "I prefer to do that with more dangerous and complicated acts."

Jack tapped the tiller to bring his dinghy a little closer to the admiral's rowboat. "Well, look at it this way, mate. You've got a new start! You can _not_ do those awful things you did last time around, and instead of being a Navy man, you can sail the seas freely! That sounds nice, don't it?"

Norrington slid an unimpressed glance Jack's way. "Would part of my new life entail not chasing pirates anymore?"

Jack grinned unapologetically. "It'd certainly be different, wouldn't it?"

Norrington snorted and turned back to the horizon, a hand shielding his eyes from the sun. "Don't bother yourself with me, Sparrow. I haven't a right to judge you any more than I have a right to judge anyone. And that's no right at all."

"I think you'll find everyone uses that right whether they've got a right to the right or not, but I'm not going to work too hard convincing you of that," Jack said, gingerly tapping the dinghy into the rowboat. James startled at the sudden bump and subsequent rocking.

"What on earth are you doing?" he asked.

"What's it look like?" asked Jack, lashing the two boats together. "Both of us have experienced the very special honour of being dead and then no longer being dead, and that's not something you can chat about down the pub, is it?" He retrieved the bottle of rum from under the tiller and clambered over to the rowboat. "So I figure the middle of the sea will do." He grinned and held out the bottle.

James glared at him. "I said I've no right to judge you. I'm still perfectly capable of being disgusted by you, however."

"A very fine disgust that is, too," said Jack. "A tod of rum'll help take the edge off of it."

Norrington rolled his eyes, but snatched the bottle away for a good long drink.

  
A short while later, Jack and the formerly-late admiral were sprawled in the dinghy, a fair number of bottles rolling between them (Jack had, as it turned out, ferreted away an entire crate of rum in the prow.)

"Yer goin' about this all wrong," said Jack, poking James in the shoulder. "Don't try an' explain how this happened, jus' be someone else. If someone chances to recognize you, tell 'em they're goin' mad. You aren't James Norrington, yer, yer," Jack snapped his fingers. "You're Alouicious Bandersnout."

James laughed, and the laughter bounced across the waves.

"Slap a bit of mud around your face again," suggested Jack. "Then they won't recognize you from Bob."

"You recognized me," James pointed out, his voice getting quieter with well-earned tiredness.

"Well," said Jack, "You was bellowing. No-one bellows quite like Mr Bandersnout."

James chuckled again and swung his long legs over the side of the dinghy to rest in the rowboat. "And how does Mr Bandersnout make his living? Honourably, I hope."

"He sells buckets," said Jack. He smiled at James' sniggering, then said, "He can do whatever you like, mate." He propped himself up on an elbow and looked down at James. "What's something ye always wanted to do, but couldn't 'cause of the rules and society ladies and such?"

James studied him a moment, furrow creased in thought and his eyes a little red from too much rum. Then he leaned up, clasped a fistful of dreadlocks, and kissed Jack full on the mouth. It was a little wet, and somewhat sloppy, and his tongue was a bit too much of a well-mannered gentleman, but it was a good kiss for all that.

James let go of Jack's hair and lay back down, taking another swig of rum.

"Oh," said Jack. He lay down, too, squinting his eyes up at the darkening sky. "There's many a lass who'd like to make a living kissing Jack Sparrow," he said gently, "but perhaps you need sommat that pays a little better."

James grunted agreement, then let out a long, sleepy sigh.

Jack tapped his fingers on the deck. "But it occurs to me, mate, that shouldn't discourage you from doing such a thing ever again." He glanced over.

James made some sort of noise that could be interpreted as curiosity. His eyes were peacefully closed.

"Every man needs a hobby, at least," said Jack, and smiled when the corner of James' lips turned up.


End file.
